Author Haryoto Kunto's home a bookworm's paradise

Author Haryoto Kunto's home a bookworm's paradise

By YR Prahista

BANDUNG (JP): When Haryoto Kunto died on Oct. 4, 1999, few
people realized that he left as his legacy an invaluable cultural
and scientific treasure.

The author of Wajah Bandung Tempo Doeloe (The Face of Bandung
in the Olden Days, 1984) and Semerbak Bunga di Bandung Raya
(Fragrance of Flowers in Greater Bandung, 1986) left behind in
his old, rather unkempt house at Jl. Haji Mesrie 5 over 30,000
titles of books and other reading materials on a wealth of
topics.

In his lifetime, Kunto was known to be knowledgeable about the
history, architecture and other aspects of his birthplace,
Bandung, which led to him receiving the nickname kuncen
(gatekeeper) of the city.

His collection of books includes materials on the Sundanese
people of West Java and their cultural and natural wealth. A book
on the Sundanese language which was popular in the 1950s, Rusdi
jeung Misnem, is one of many items in his collection that cannot
be found elsewhere.

His wife, Etty Haryoto Kunto, said some 45 percent of the
books in her husband's collection were in English, 20 percent in
Dutch and the rest in Indonesian and regional languages. Kunto
spoke Javanese as his mother tongue and also mastered Sundanese.

Kunto's collection also includes about 50 sets of various
encyclopedias. This collection is outstanding in that it contains
books on ethnic groups across Indonesia by Dutch Indonesianists
such as F.Y. Veth, F de Haan, H.A. van Hien, H.H. Juynboll, Clive
Day, F.D.K. Bosch, B. Schrieke, W. Fruin Mees, J. Gontha, C.C.
Berg, Brandes, Krom, P.J. Zoetmulder, J. Kats, S. Coolsma, C.
Hooykas, W.F. Stutterheim and K.A.H. Hidding.

These books on Indonesian studies are rare in terms of their
age and contents. Some of them are already a century old and many
are out of print; some of the publishers have gone out of
business.

Kunto, an alumnus of the School of City Planning of Bandung
Institute of Technology, was a bookworm when he was small.

"He preferred not to buy snacks rather than not buying books,"
reminisced Us Tiarsa Riestu, a childhood friend of Kunto's and
now the chairman of the West Java chapter of the Indonesian
Association of Journalists (PWI).

He would go anywhere in his search for books.

"We often met at the secondhand book market on Jl. Cikapundung
and Palasari Market," said Her Suganda, Kompas reporter in
Bandung. He described Kunto as someone with a network of old book
vendors.

"As soon as these secondhand book traders came across old
books, they would offer them to Kunto first before selling them
to other people," he added.

Kunto's huge collection of books made his home resemble a
library instead of a residence. Books were scattered everywhere,
piled on chairs and the dining table. Although some were neatly
stacked in a simple cupboard, others were pushed under the bed or
put in the kitchen.

Researchers and scholars would visit the home in search of
references.

"If he needed a particular book, he would always know where it
was," Etty said.

The concern is that the collection could be damaged due the
state of disrepair of the home, built in the 1920s. There are
leaks in several places, which is a problem during the rainy
season.

"If I didn't want to be bothered, I could just sell this
collection. Many foreigners are interested in buying it," said
Etty.

Several government agencies have also offered to preserve the
books. A number of libraries, like the one at ITB, also expressed
willingness to take the collection.

However, Etty, an English teacher at a state secondary school
in Bandung, is determined to establish a library and a museum in
memory of her husband. "I would like to realize Mas Harry's
ambition which he had yet to materialize even at the end of his
life, " she said.

"Even three days before his death, Kunto, by then already
confined to his bed at Advent Hospital in Bandung, still talked
about this ambition," said Her Suganda.

Unfortunately, a year after Kunto's death his ambition has yet
to be materialized.

"I fear that if they are neglected too long, these books will
eventually be damaged. They're made of paper after all," Etty
said.

The dream may soon become a reality; a working committee led
by A. Harso W. Witono is endeavoring to build the library and
museum of Haryoto Kunto. "Our only asset is enthusiasm."

The plan is for a two-story building, with an office, museum
and a special library of rare books. A library of regular titles
will occupy the second floor.

"The committee will work only until the construction of the
building is completed. Then the building will be handed over to a
foundation to be established by the Kunto family," said Witono, a
young businessman from Bandung.

He estimated the construction of the building for libraries
and a museum will need some Rp 1 billion.

"We will facilitate the construction of this building," said
Bandung municipality chief AS Tarmana in a discussion on
"Remembering Haryoto Kunto's Collection and Works", held by
Pikiran Rakyat daily here in cooperation with Rumah Nusantara in
late September.

Witono said most of the funding was expected to come from the
public and he hoped concerned citizens would contribute to help
Kuncen's dream become a reality.